Paloma Pasha

“THE OVERALL QUALITY OF THE PALOMA PASHA HOTEL”

For me - I have to be honest I am " according to my wife" a real fuss pot !! It seems I do strongly criticise many hotels.& re:- food & beverage in nearly most of the restaurants I have frequented - not always on the quality or quantity of food & service but … more

For me - I have to be honest I am " according to my wife" a real fuss pot !! It seems I do strongly criticise many hotels.& re:- food & beverage in nearly most of the restaurants I have frequented - not always on the quality or quantity of food & service but very much on the value for money, hygiene & location . ( probably as I have been involved all my life in Cuisine & Hospitality as a Senior Lecturer in a large Catering College in the U.K. plus I was an ex -member of the British Team of Chefs ) So I feel I do know a little about hotels & quality of food etc !! ( I also like to remind vacationers we are not paying the best part of £300 for luncheon for two as I did recently at the London Ritz which in fairness is about as good as it ever can be anywhere !! - so when your here at the Paloma Pasha for 10 days in a lovely room , with drinks & shed loads of food one really must judge your review on that basis , I hope you agree ? In June '25 my wife & I stayed for 10 days in a sea view room which was lovely so clean & kept that way throughout . Ok cutting to the chase we found the Paloma Pasha to be probably one of the very best hotels we have ever stayed in on a vacation !! . I will not bore readers of this post but I have to state there is nothing repeat "NOTHING" negative I can say what so ever !! I do however find it incredulous when I read very poor reviews as it just doesn't compare with how I found the care & quality we found throughout our stay - so much so we have booked again for 2026 - when it will be a delight to meet the staff again who went the extra mile to ensure our satisfaction . I suggest folk compare prices all around & include Spain & the Canaries too as well as Turkey & I feel you will give this splendid hotel a big thumbs up for all round quality and value plus including its wonderful scenic location - Happy Holidays .!!

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“Amazing holiday!”

Me and my friend have just stayed at this hotel for 7 nights. We would highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking to go turkey! It had everything you would want for a holiday including a massive pool and the private beach area. A massive shout out to all of the staff members at this hotel as eve… more

Me and my friend have just stayed at this hotel for 7 nights. We would highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking to go turkey! It had everything you would want for a holiday including a massive pool and the private beach area. A massive shout out to all of the staff members at this hotel as every single person we met were lovely and friendly and made us feel so welcome and always went above and beyond for us.

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“Reasonably Decent, But Far From Fantastic, Two Week Stay”

Just returned from two weeks at Paloma Pasha, and we had a pretty decent experience overall. The Good: -The hotel itself has some fantastic views, and is very well looked after a cared for. The hotel grounds are near spotless, the beach and pool areas are clean and well maintained, and the hotel … more

Just returned from two weeks at Paloma Pasha, and we had a pretty decent experience overall. The Good: -The hotel itself has some fantastic views, and is very well looked after a cared for. The hotel grounds are near spotless, the beach and pool areas are clean and well maintained, and the hotel buildings are all well appointed and photogenic. -The drinks selection and quality was always great. Everything from the cocktails and beer, to the mocktails and milkshakes, it was always tasty with a lot of variety compared to other hotels we've stayed at in Turkey. -The beach area itself is fantastic, especially for those who aren't confident with swimming. There were always plenty of sunbeds, and the sea never came above our shoulders, and is also sandy throughout. And even when the weather turned sour during our second week, the temperature was still decent. -The indoor pool was also good. It was heated when we were there and never overcrowded, while the free spa areas were also good; the steam room and hammam in particular being good. -The Wabi Sabi a la carte restaurant was very good, with a lot of choice at a high level of quality. -The Guest Relations service on Whatsapp was always good too. Whatever question or issue we had, it was always taken care of quickly and professionally. -The Wi-Fi was always good and kept connected throughout the hotel. -The Quentine snack restaurant was always good too. The pizzas, pasta and burgers were fantastic. The meh: -While the pool was large and never crowded, parts of the pool area are starting to look worse for wear, with broken tiles, loose grates and broken showers all about, and the pool was constantly freezing while we were there too. -The pier area, while relaxing and pleasing on the eye, it is very windy, the wood is starting to splinter - leading to one of our party getting injured, and as I will come onto later, the atmosphere here is hampered by certain guests. -While we loved the cats for the most part, and understand the part they play in keeping the hotel pest free, having them jump up to get food while eating in the restaurants just isn't nice. -While the room was mainly good, it did have quite a few issues. The spacious nature of the room, with all of it's storage space, good views, fantastic shower and comfortable beds, was kind of cancelled out by issues such as lights not working throughout the room, the TV being temperamental (and having very few English channels), the shower window leaking, the air-conditioning breaking twice, the sound-proofing being poor and the balcony door not locking at all - a "5 star" hotel costing as much as this should not have this many issues. -The main restaurant and food in general was also a mixed bag. While the food was good for the most part, the selection in the main restaurant was often lacking. Breakfast was good, albeit the same each day, lunch in the main restaurant was reasonably good but towards the end of our trip, the same food was offered 4 nights in a row... Some dishes were also bizarre. Serving fish boiled in berries and beef tongue is just not appetising at a 5 star all inclusive. Food also ran out frequently too as kitchen staff seemed too busy to replenish dishes by being on their phones all the time, while desserts seemed to be served entirely on a first come first served basis. Additionally, the restaurant is far too small for a hotel of this size. While evening dinner runs from 18:30-21:00, coming down anytime before 20:00 is impossible as there are no tables available whatsoever. The Quentine a la carte was also meh. The menu seemed quite limited and the food itself wasn't anything to shout about. The bistro was a similar story. A lot of the food on the menu was never available and the patisserie was nothing more than a small selection of biscuits. -The local and surrounding area is also okay. While the dolmus to Kusadasi for 4 euros each is convenient for shopping and boat trips, its hour-1.5 hour duration could put some people off, while getting the dolmus the opposite way takes you to Seferihisar, which I would avoid entirely; it blatantly isn't a tourist town, especially given the uncomfortable looks we kept getting from locals as we walked around. If you don't want to go to either of these places, there is a dolmus to Selcuk and Doganbey, and a wide range of taxis available to all sorts of destinations, but as always in Turkey, these are horrendously expensive (300 euros for a round trip to Izmir). The town of Ozdere is also okay. There is a small selection of shops and restaurants here selling all manner of things, but nothing overly special. As a result of this, there is virtually nothing to do outside of the hotel, and very little to do in the hotel if bad weather hits. -The app is also hit and miss. While it was useful to keep track of the events at the hotel and check restaurant and bar menus, it didn't work at all to book restaurants (thankfully, the guest relations helped with this). -The tennis court was also alright. The court is widely available and rackets + balls are available at reception, but if you don't want to play in the blistering midday heat, its 10 euros for an hour. The Bad: -The staff here were not overly good. As with many hotels throughout Turkey, German guests make up the majority here, and as a result of this, staff do seem to give them preferential treatment. For example, when we arrived and checked out of the hotel, our welcome/goodbye was tepid at best, yet when German guests arrived, they were greeted happily. Furthermore, this treatment spread to the restaurant. German guests were always served first with a smile and they were found tables first, while we were sometimes left waiting up to 20 minutes just for drinks. In addition to this, a lot of the staff only spoke poor levels of English, which led to requests at reception being fruitless and drinks orders being wrong countless times. Staff also rarely looked happy, looked overworked and some seemed unable to do their jobs that well, struggling with the coffee machine and not knowing how to make cocktails from their own menu occasionally. Musa was the exception to this however. He always made time for us and always reminded us about his love for Galatasaray. While it's possible to overlook these issues, two areas of contention really worried/concerned us. Firstly, the security at the hotel was essentially non-existent. While there are multiple security offices around the hotel perimeter, these security staff were either always smoking, on their phones, or chatting obliviously to notice what guests were coming and going; while we were asked to wear wristbands at the hotel, we were not once asked to show these, or for our room number to prove we were actually staying at the hotel, leading to a woman who obviously wasn't a guest at the hotel just wandering in at one point, using the pool area and sunbeds entirely free of charge - obviously this particular instance wasn't overly dangerous, it could quite easily be if this isn't improved. Secondly, as I have already mentioned, cats are everywhere throughout the hotel, which was rarely an issue for us, but seeing a staff member randomly grab of of these cats around the neck and throw it to the ground forcibly was absolutely shocking and completely unacceptable. -As previously mentioned, German guests are the majority here and they did occasionally ruin the atmosphere here. For example, manner are completely non-existent for these guests; they'll push past you, and push their plates into your back at dinner time and completely take over areas such as the pier and games room so that other guests either don't feel welcome or are told to leave by these very guests, hardly helping to create a relaxing holiday environment. Conclusion: While we absolutely enjoyed this holiday and hotel, compared to other places we've been to in Turkey, it is definitely lacking. The beauty of the hotel and beach area is what really drew us into this hotel, and alongside the drinks offerings, cleanliness, and laughs we had, it was an enjoyable holiday, but certain areas such as the staff in particular really need improving for this hotel to be a properly good experience.

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“Paid for 5-Star TUI Platinum, Received 3-Star at Best.”

Trip: 8th–22nd October 2025 Group: 10 adults (celebrating a 40th & 50th birthday) We booked this hotel with TUI advertised as a 5-star 'Platinum' experience. We've travelled quite a bit, including to Türkiye multiple times, so we have a good idea of what 5-star service and facilities look like. Th… more

Trip: 8th–22nd October 2025 Group: 10 adults (celebrating a 40th & 50th birthday) We booked this hotel with TUI advertised as a 5-star 'Platinum' experience. We've travelled quite a bit, including to Türkiye multiple times, so we have a good idea of what 5-star service and facilities look like. This was not it. I'll start with the positives, as there were a few, before explaining why we have sent a complaint to TUI about this hotel and the facilities. The Good Bits • Lobby Bar Staff: The main lobby bar staff were fantastic. Selim, Omer, Tuncay, and the other staff whose names I've forgotten, were a credit to the hotel. They were professional, gave speedy service, made excellent drinks, and had a great laugh with us. They even made a fuss for my birthday, which was a lovely touch. • A la Carte Restaurants: We visited Curio (steakhouse, extra cost) twice and Wabi Sabi (Thai/Sushi) three times. Both were excellent. The food was fantastic, and the staff in those restaurants were wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed every meal we had there. • Guest Relations: Contacting Guest Relations via the Paloma app was great. They responded quickly via WhatsApp and helped us arrange taxis, restaurant bookings and assisted with other information. They were brilliant and helped all our group with a whole range of requests. My wife also contacted them to arrange a birthday surprise for me and commented that they were excellent. The Not-So-Good Bits Unfortunately, the good bits stop there. The rest of the hotel and experience was a huge let down. • The Rooms: Although the rooms were a good size, ours was in a poor state. The beds were rock hard, leading to back and shoulder ache for both of us. The shower leaked badly and flooded the bathroom floor. The sink tap was loose, the fridge door was wonky and had to be lifted to close it, and the balcony light didn’t work. We also had a broken shower blind (between the room and the shower, so anyone in the room could see into the shower! A bizarre design choice too!) and a broken shower gel dispenser. The floor was filthy too; I had white socks on and within 10 minutes of unpacking and walking around in the room my socks were black! This is not 5-star. • Main Restaurant (Food & Service): The main buffet was chaotic. The breakfast offerings were terrible, so we skipped it most days. At dinner, the food was often cold or lukewarm and was sometimes cleared away before the advertised closing time. There are no self-service drinks (not even water), and the waiter service was so lacking that we frequently ate our entire meal without getting a single drink. The food choices were Ok but there weren't any themed nights that we've had in other actual 5-star hotels - it was pretty much the same stuff every day. • General Drinks: The quality of drinks was poor. Cocktails were inconsistent, and items advertised on the menu (like Efes Malt) were never in stock. I’ve no idea who taught them to make an Espresso Martini or Aperol Spritz, but they were undrinkable. The white wine and prosecco were also particularly bad and they didn't have any dark or spiced rum. • Hotel Facilities & Maintenance: The whole hotel felt neglected. The games room was a joke— the equipment was ancient, faulty or broken. The ping pong tables and paddles were broken, and halfway through our stay, one table was removed and never replaced. The wooden decking around the ponds was broken and sticking up, creating a trip hazard. • Location: Be aware that the hotel is quite isolated. There are a few shops nearby, but nothing else. A taxi to Kuşadası (the nearest main town) takes 45 minutes and costs 100 Euros for a return trip. We did this twice and enjoyed Kuşadası (great for bazaar shopping), but it's an expensive outing. • On-site "Extras": The hotel shop is tiny and has minimal products. It doesn't even sell cold drinks like cans of pop or energy drinks. The water sports are also extortionate—70 Euros for 15 minutes on a jet ski. It's no wonder we didn't see a single person use them in two weeks. • The 'Bad' A la Carte: We avoided the Quentine restaurant after our first visit. It was freezing cold as temperatures dropped in the evening, and the lighting was so bad we could barely see what we were eating. The staff here were great though, as most of the staff were. • Cats Everywhere: Not a bad thing for us as we love all animals. But if you are afraid of cats or allergic to them, avoid this hotel, there are cats everywhere. They are in the hotel, around the pool and in the restaurants. Two of our group got scratched while interacting with them, some of the cats can be a bit skittish so be careful. Conclusion: Not 5-Star and Not Worth the Money I wouldn't be so critical if we had paid £700-£800 per person for this holiday. But we paid £1200 per person for what is advertised as a TUI 5-Star 'Platinum' resort. It is not 5-Star. I know that in Türkiye, 5-Star isn’t the same as UK 5-Star, but this hotel was barely a Türkiye 3-Star, let alone 5-Star. We were in a group of 10 and while the company of good friends meant that we had a great time, none of our group liked the hotel or felt that we had got what we paid for. Whether it's the end of the season or not, the service and facilities should be up to standard. This hotel felt like a 3-star at best. We've sent a formal complaint to TUI as this hotel is not up to their usual standards. Unless you get an amazing last-minute deal (£700 or less), I cannot recommend this hotel at the price we paid. P.S. If you do go, please take some food from the buffet for the stray dogs in the area. They are super friendly, and it's heart-breaking to see so many of them. We fed them most days, and they really appreciated it.

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